April 2014 Posts

My parents can't manage alone anymore. What should I do?

Are one or both of your parents having health problems, suffering mental lapses, or just slowing down with age? Do you find they can't manage on their own anymore? If so, you'll want to consider the various living arrangements that are available to older individuals. Before you begin, however, you'll want to talk to your parents and siblings....

Taking Inventory of Your Assets is a Good Place to Start to help your Trustee

What is an assisted-living facility, and how do I choose one?

What is an assisted-living facility? The wide number of options available makes defining the term difficult. Generally, however, assisted-living facilities primarily serve senior citizens who need more help than those who live in independent living communities. ...

Two Popular Charitable Trusts for You to Consider

A couple of charitable trusts are very popular with people making significant gifts to charity: the charitable lead annuity trust (CLAT) and the charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT). They each allow income, gift, and estate tax charitable deductions for a trust with both charitable and noncharitable beneficiaries. A CLAT leads off with a stream of annuity payments for the charity, while the CRUT provides a remainder interest for the charity when the trust ends. ...

15 Facts about Social Security

It's easy to take Social Security for granted when retirement is years away, but with 94% of the U.S. workforce covered by Social Security,* it's likely that this program will play a role in your financial future, perhaps even sooner than you think. Here are some facts and statistics from the Social Security Administration that highlight why Social Security is important to so many people. ...

Clean SGR Bill Clears House, Senate, and President’s Desk

Permanently repealing the sustainable growth rate (SGR) has been a primary objective of Congress this year. The primary obstacle to a compromise has been how to pay for the SGR repeal estimated to cost $150 million. So Congress for the 17th time in 11 years approved a temporary fix (12 months) to this long-term problem. The SGR patch (H.R. 4302) that averts a 24 percent cut to Medicare physician reimbursements passed the House on March 28, the Senate on March 31, and was signed into law on April 1, 2014. ...

Americans Continue to Face Saving Challenges, Survey Finds

According to a survey released last month by America Saves and the American Savings Education Council (ASEC), just 35% of Americans feel they are making good or excellent progress in saving money. Nearly two-thirds (63%) say they're making fair or no progress. ...